A World of Second Chances
by clear variant
Summary: Lizzie and Gordo enter their first year of high school - as friends. Gordo intends to change that, and for him there's no better opportunity than at their first high school party. But the party doesn't go as planned; will it spell disaster for L and G?
1. Party

"How cool is this! Our first high school party!" Lizzie squealed, smiling brightly.

"Lizzie, you're only making it more obvious that we're freshmen by acting like this. Just chill," said Miranda coolly, running her fingers through her freshly-dyed red hair.

"Trust me Miranda, none of the guys care that we're freshmen. I heard some junior boys talking in the hall, and they said they'd totally date freshmen girls."

"Oh, well goody for me," interjected Gordo sullenly.

"Don't worry, Gordo," Lizzie said earnestly, patting him on the back. "There'll be a nice girl for you at the party." But the tought unsettled her slightly, and she resolved to keep a close eye on who Gordo talked to.

Gordo sighed. "Yeah, you're right," he said. _More right than you know_, he added mentally.

The three friends were walking to the party, which was only a few blocks from Gordo's house. Paul, a junior Gordo had been tutoring in algebra, had a party every year on Labor Day weekend. Paul really hadn't considered inviting Gordo at all - who invites a freshman? - until he met Gordo's best friends one day at lunch. After lunch, he told Gordo he could come to the party - as long as Miranda came with him.

"Gordo, are you sure you know where we're going?" asked Miranda. "We've been walking for hours."

"I tutor Paul three times a week, Miranda, I know where his house is. And besides, we've only been walking for five minutes." Gordo pointed at his watch.

"Don't be too hard on her, Gordo," Lizzie chimed in mischeviously. "She's just afraid of breaking a sweat and ruining her make-up before Paul sees her."

Miranda blushed and smiled. "Shut up, Lizzie," she said sheepishly.

"Well, here we are," Gordo announced. The three stood in front of a very large two-story home. Cars were parked all along the street around the house - something the three weren't really used to seeing at the parties they'd been too. From inside they could hear music blaring and people shouting.

"Um, guys, am I the only one here who's a little nervous?" asked Lizzie.

"Why should _you_ be nervous?" asked Miranda. "_You've_ been to a high school party before, remember?"

Lizzie laughed. "Shut up, you know that doesn't count."

Gordo started walking resolutely towards the door. "C'mon you guys. We're in high school now, a new chapter in our lives. We need to make the most of it." He stopped and turned around to face the girls, and simply could not help looking squarely at Lizzie as he finished. "We have a whole new world of second chances."

Lizzie blushed and looked away; she knew what Gordo was talking about. The kiss they'd shared in Rome - clumsy, fleeting, and perfect - had been the only manifestation of their feelings for each other. Neither of them had any idea how to handle the relationship from there, so despite that evening's events, they carried on as friends and acted as though nothing had happened. They were both terrified to bring it up, both afraid that the other thought the kiss was a mistake. So rather than risk everything - the friendship they had and the love that might still be - they went back to normal, back to being friends.

It was very hard for both of them.

_A whole new world of second chances_. The words echoed in Lizzie's head. She looked at Gordo and smiled. "Sounds good," she said almost bashfully.

Miranda looked back and forth between the two amusedly. "If you two are done doing your whole weird Joey-and-Dawson thing, then I recommend we go inside. I just saw Tudgeman heading for the punch-bowl, and that boy drinks like a camel."


	2. Snag

Gordo opened the front door to reveal a very loud and very crowded house. People were packed in from wall to wall, standing shoulder to shoulder, talking and drinking from plastic red cups.

"Guys, I know this sounds stupid, but what are we supposed to do once we get in there?" asked Miranda. "I mean, it's too loud to talk, and too crowded to dance."

Gordo looked at Miranda and laughed. "Well, we go in there and do what everyone else is doing." Miranda looked at him expectantly. "You know, we just...chill."

Lizzie laughed. "Just 'chill'?" she asked, making quote marks in the air with her fingers. "Better lay off the slang, Gordo, you might hurt yourself.

"Hey Gordon, what's up!"

The three turned around. Paul – tall and handsome with straight brown hair, wide shoulders and an even wider smile – was walking across the driveway towards them.

"Hey, what's going on, man?" Gordo replied, walking past the girls to greet Paul. He heard Lizzie whisper to Miranda behind him, "he is too cute!" and had to try hard not to scowl.

Paul shook Gordo's hand, and then turned and smiled at Lizzie and Miranda. "Ladies, glad to see you could make it."

Miranda smiled back. "Wouldn't miss it."

Paul looked past the three and through the front door. "Jeez, looks really crowded in there. Why don't you guys come around back to the patio? It's not so crowded or loud back there, so..." He looked at Miranda and smiled. "...We could talk, get to know each other better." Miranda tried in vain not to blush.

"Sounds good," said Gordo, and they followed Paul to the back of the house.

One hour and a dozen cups of very strong-tasting punch had finally helped Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda to loosen up and enjoy the party. The girls had even gone inside to dance to a few of their favorite songs that happened to come on, but for the most part they stayed with Gordo and Paul at the patio table next to the pool, talking. Lizzie had been telling Paul about some of their finer moments in middle school.

"...and Gordo just kept pushing buttons on his brain model thingy, until it finally exploded. He got this nasty brain-gunk everywhere – all over himself, the teacher, everything! It was awful."

Everyone laughed except Gordo, who sat there looking completely distracted. Paul pushed him lightly on the shoulder. "Lighten up, Gordon. Exploding brains happens to the best of us."

Gordo shook his head and looked up. "Huh? What?"

Paul laughed. "Nevermind, man."

Gordo stood up abruptly and looked at Lizzie. "Sorry, I'll be right back. I have to..." He walked away without finishing his sentence.

Paul looked at Gordo as he walked away. "Is he always this weird?"

The girls laughed. "He's not weird," said Lizzie. "He's just...Gordo."

Inside the house, Gordo found his way into the bathroom and closed the door. He leaned against the wall and looked into the mirror. _Alright, _he thought to himself. _Lizzie didn't freak out or anything when you mentioned second chances – she smiled. That means she's up for it. All you have to do is tell her how you feel..._

But the thought of pouring his heart out to Lizzie was terrifying, made him queasy. Which was very bad considering how much punch he'd had, and considering he'd never had a drop of alcohol before. So before he could even finish thinking about pouring his heart out to Lizzie, he started pouring his stomach out into the sink.

Back outside, the girls were hanging on Paul's every word. He was telling them about the time he broke is arm snowboarding in Colorado.

"It wasn't too bad. It was only fractured in two places. Healed up in no time." He held out his two brawny arms and flexed them to prove his point.

"How long have you been snowboarding?" asked Miranda.

"I started when I was twelve, so...four years now." Paul picked up his cup to drink, but found it empty. Miranda, who hadn't taken her eyes of Paul for the past two hours, of course noticed.

"Do you want me to get you another drink?"

Paul smiled brightly at her. "Sure."

Miranda smiled back at him, picked up his cup, and walked giddily into the house. As she disappeared within the crowd of people inside, Paul got up and moved into the chair next to Lizzie, where Miranda had been.

"Lizzie, there's something I want to tell you."

"Gordo already told me – but don't tell him I told you. You like Miranda. Don't worry, she totally..."

"I like _you_, Lizzie," Paul interrupted as he took her hands in his. Lizzie's jaw dropped.

"But I thought..."

"I told Gordo that I like Miranda because I could tell that he likes you, and he wouldn't let you anywhere near me if he knew the truth." Paul let go Lizzie's hands and hung his head a little. "I don't get to talk to you much at school, so this was the only way I could think of to talk to you for more than five minutes – which is something I've really wanted to do for a while."

Despite her shock, Lizzie found Paul's efforts flattering. He'd gone through all this trouble just to talk to _her. Wait a minute_, she thought. _Paul's "efforts" included lying to her two best friends, and making Miranda believe..._But her thoughts were disrupted when her breath fell short as she looked up at Paul's face – his very handsome face – and saw the longing in his eyes. He once again took her hands in his.

"Lizzie, when I saw you in the hall on the first day of school, I knew that there never had been and there never would be a girl as beautiful as you at Hillridge High."

And when Paul kissed her, her heart beat so loudly that it drowned out everything: the music, the shouting, and the sound of footsteps as Gordo and Miranda walked back out into the patio.


End file.
